The latest airline to enter the Indian aviation sector is, in fact, an all-cargo carrier. Pradhaan Air Express operated its first commercial flight earlier this month and has been busy carrying cargo domestically and internationally since then. The airline was formed after the COVID pandemic, which has tweaked the perception of the air cargo sector in India, with even existing passenger carriers dabbling in the segment.
Pradhaan Air takes to the skies
India’s newest all-cargo carrier officially began commercial service on October 1st with a domestic flight between Delhi (DEL) and Mumbai (BOM), returning the same day. The airline marked the occasion with a small ceremony before the flight’s departure and posted about it on social media.
Mint quotes Nipun Anand, CEO & Founder, Pradhaan Air Express, as saying,
“We are extremely excited to kick-start our commercial operations with the Airbus A320 Freighter.”
Since then, the A320 freighter has been keeping busy with not just domestic operations but international flights as well. On October 9th, Pradhaan Air carried out its first international flight on the Delhi-Hanoi-Delhi route.
Anand said he was happy with the response from the customers and plans to operate charter flights to many more destinations in the future.
The first A320 converted freighter in the world
Pradhaan Air received the aircraft in July and is set to receive another one later this year. Named “Pehelwan” (wrestler in Hindi), it is the world’s first Airbus A320 P2F aircraft, modified in Singapore earlier this year.
It has been leased from Vaayu Group/ Astral Aviation, and the conversion was done by Elbe Flugzeugwerke, a joint venture of ST Engineering and Airbus, at its facility in Singapore.
ST Engineering signed a leasing agreement for up to five Airbus A320 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) aircraft with Vaayu Group in February, and Astral Aviation, a cargo airline based in Nairobi, Kenya, was declared the launch operator.
The airline is set up by the founder of airline general sales agency Zeal Global Corporation, Nipun Anand, and will be based in Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
More players
While India is considered a leading global aviation market, most of its traffic comes from the passenger segment. For years, the only prominent all-cargo airline in the country has been Blue Dart Aviation, based in Chennai in South India.
But trends are shifting, particularly after the pandemic, with even established airlines wanting a slice of the pie. IndiGo recently welcomed its first all-cargo plane – an Airbus A321P2F. The airline started toying with the idea of a dedicated cargo fleet during the COVID pandemic, realizing the untapped potential of this market.
SpiceJet has also dipped its toe in the cargo sector with SpiceXpress, a cash-positive enterprise with a net profit of $5.6 million.
While India is far behind in the race when it comes to having a dominant cargo carrier, it’ll be interesting to see if these developments lead to something more significant in the years to come.
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Source: Mint
